Occupy Wall Street and the Peer-to-Peer Revolution: a discussion with Michel Bauwens Part I
Source: Action Foresight
Michel Bauwens, founder of the Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives , talks about Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement as an example of peer production.
I was fortunate to catch up with friend and colleague Michel Bauwens in Chiang Mai in Nov. of 2011. It was truly inspiring to be with Michel, who I consider one of the most brilliant minds I have come across in my lifetime. For him, Peer-to-Peer is not just a few examples of web2+, but a macro-historical analysis combined with an integrative philosophy. I have met few people who can straddle diverse discourses while maintaining the raw energy of the creative global change agent, and an amazing vision for our common futures. Over the last half year we have had a few opportunities to engage in some of these discourses for global social change, or what I call ‘alternative globalisation’, in the discussion “From the Crisis of Capitalism to the Emergence of Peer to Peer Political Ecologies“. As articulated by Michel, peer production / peer to peer is a counter-hegemonic discourse that rests on the ancient and re-emerging philosophy of the (global / human) commons. As such it is squarely aligned with the aims and aspirations of OWS.
This is part one of this series. Parts II and III will come out over the next few days.
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